Shootout at O.K. Corral
Following the Arizona silver strike of 1877, Tombstone quickly grew into one of the richest mining towns in the American West, attracting the likes of the Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers, Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil to the bustling and sometimes lawless desert community, along with outlaw cattle rustlers, thieves and murderers like the Clanton and McLaury brothers.
The Stages is Set
A former Dodge City peace officer, Wyatt worked as a bank security guard, while his brothers Morgan and Virgil were Tombstone marshals, and when Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury rode into Tombstone for supplies on the morning of October 25th, 1881, the two cattle ranching outlaws had multiple violent run-ins with the Earps and Doc Holliday.
Doc Holliday Picks a Fight
Itching for a fight against the law-and-order brothers of Tombstone, the following afternoon, Billy Clanton, Frank McLaury and Billy Claiborne rode into town to round out the Clanton-McLaury gang, and when the new arrivals strode into a local saloon for refreshments, Holliday was more than happy to inform them that their brothers had both been pistol-whipped in a fight with the Earps.
Showdown Begins
Vowing revenge for their brothers, the five-man gang met up at OK Corral at the end of Fremont Street, and when the Earps and Holliday spotted the gang around 3 P.M., the now-famous Gunfight at OK Corral exploded into a 30-second fusillade of gunfire. While historians continue to debate who fired the first shot, Sheriff and eyewitness John Behan of Cochise County testified that Virgil Earp drew his sidearm and shot Billy Clanton point-blank in the chest, while Holliday did the same to Tom McLaury with a shotgun.
Nothing Left But the Shouting
Wyatt then shot Frank McLaury in the stomach, while Frank and Billy managed to squeeze off a few shots before collapsing, wounding Virgil, Morgan and Holliday, before Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne fled for the hills. After Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers died from their injuries, in the aftermath to follow, Sheriff Behan initially charged the Earps and Holliday with murder, until a Tombstone judge found the men not guilty a month later, ruling that their actions were “fully justified in committing these homicides,” making the Shootout at OK Corral, a high water moment in the storied annals of wild west lore.